Portfolio: Gas prices inch back

Monday, March 18, 2013

The average price for a gallon of regular gas in the Philadelphia five-county area Monday was $3.68, down a penny over the weekend and down 3 cents in the last week, AAA Mid-Atlantic reported. Diesel, at $4.16 Monday, was down 2 cents over the weekend.

Pennsylvania’s gas average was at $3.70 Monday, down a penny over the weekend and down 3 cents in the last week. Diesel, at $4.13 Monday, was down 2 cents over the weekend, the motor club found.

The national gas average, at $3.69 Monday, was down a penny over the weekend and down 2 cents in the last week. Diesel, at $4.06 Monday, was down a penny over the weekend.

TOASTMASTERS: Great Valley Toastmasters Club, part of Toastmasters International, an organization dedicated to speaking and leadership development, will host an Open House for prospective members at its weekly meeting on March 26, 2013. The meeting will begin promptly at noon at the East Whiteland Township Building, 209 Conestoga Road, Malvern. Refreshments will be served. For more information contact Glenn Brown at 610-889-7467, e-mail greatvalleytoastmasters@aol.com or visit http://gvtoastmasters.toastmastersclubs.org.

SMOKING: A new proposal would require New York City retailers to keep tobacco products out of sight under a first-in-the-nation proposal aimed at reducing the youth smoking rate, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said Monday.

The legislation would require stores to keep tobacco products in cabinets, drawers, under the counter, behind a curtain or in other concealed spots. They could only be visible when an adult is making a purchase or during restocking.

Bloomberg said similar prohibitions on displays have been enacted in other countries, including Iceland, Canada, England and Ireland.

“Such displays suggest that smoking is a normal activity,” Bloomberg said. “And they invite young people to experiment with tobacco.”

Stores devoted primarily to the sale of tobacco products would be exempt from the display ban.

The mayor’s office said retail stores could still advertise tobacco products under the legislation.

“We have made tremendous strides in combatting smoking in New York City but this leading killer still threatens the health of our children,” said Dr. Thomas A. Farley, the health commissioner.

SALE: United Technologies Corp. says it has completed the sale of a pump and engine control systems business owned previously by airline parts maker Goodrich Corp.

The Hartford, Conn., aerospace conglomerate said Monday it sold the business to Triumph Group Inc. of Berwyn for an undisclosed sum.

Selling the pump and engine control systems unit was one of the divestitures required by regulators as a condition of United Technologies’ $18.4 billion purchase of Goodrich.

United Technologies, which owns Sikorsky Global Helicopters in Sadsbury, also said it has an agreement to sell a Goodrich electric power systems business, which must be approved by regulators.

The Justice Department last year said the original deal would have combined the only two significant suppliers of large main engine generators for aircraft in the world and resulted in higher prices, less favorable contractual terms and less innovation for aircraft components.